A Greek archaeologist believes he has found a fragment of the lost throne of the rulers of Mycenae, famous from ancient myth and the story of the Trojan War.

Christofilis Maggidis, who heads excavations at the site in southern Greece, said the chunk of worked limestone was found two years ago, in a streambed under the imposing citadel.

He told a press conference in Athens that the royal throne was among sections of the hilltop palace that collapsed during an earthquake around 1200 B.C.

Greek archaeologist Christofilis Maggidis speaks as a photograph of a stone he believes belonged to the lost royal throne in the ancient palace of Mycenae, heart of the Mycenaean civilization, in southern Greece.

MYCENAE'S VICIOUS RULERS

Mycenae flourished from the mid-14th to the 12th century B.C. and was one of Greece's most significant late bronze age centers.

Its rulers are among the key figures of Greek myth, caught in a vicious cycle of parricide, incest and dynastic strife.

The most famous of all, Agamemnon, led the Greek army that besieged and sacked Troy, according to Homer's epics.

Greek Culture Ministry officials have distanced themselves from the identification, citing a separate study that ruled the chunk to be part of a stone basin.

Erik DeMarche and Dan Fallu made the discovery while taking measurements from the now-dry riverbed of the Chavos River within the city’s ‘Lower Town’ when they discovered the 50kg polished stone block.

But Maggidis said the find was unmistakably made for sitting on, and would have been no use for holding liquids as it is made of porous stone.

'In our opinion, this is one of the most emblematic and significant finds from the Mycenaean era,' he said.

Mycenae flourished from the mid-14th to the 12th century B.C. and was one of Greece's most significant late bronze age centers.

At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.

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Its rulers are among the key figures of Greek myth, caught in a vicious cycle of parricide, incest and dynastic strife.

The most famous of all, Agamemnon, led the Greek army that besieged and sacked Troy, according to Homer's epics.

AGAMEMNON THE TROJAN WAR LEADER

The Death mask of Agamemnon, like Maggidis' throne, was found in the bronze age centre of Mycenae

Agamemnon was the Greek leader in the great Trojan war.

The war made him recognisable throughout historical and mythological recordings, even to this day.

Despite his heroics and great leadership, Agamemnon was a casualty of unfortunate events in his family which were based on treachery, rape, murder and incest.

He managed to run away and take refuge in Sparta with his brother Menelaus who then became king of Sparta and helped Agamemnon to reclaim his throne in Mycenae.

When Helen of Sparta was abducted, Menelaus called upon his brother who became the leader of the Greeks in Trojan war that lasted ten years.

Agamemnon himself managed to survive, but was murdered upon his arrival from the war, by either his wife Clytemnestra whom he married while at Sparta or her lover who happened to be Aegisthus, the son of his uncle Thyestes who fathered him with his own daughter

It is not clear to what extent the myths were inspired by memories of historic events.

No other thrones have been found in mainland Greece's Mycenaean palaces.

An older, smaller example was found in the Minoan palace of Knossos, on the island of Crete.

Maggidis said other parts of the throne may lie be beneath Mycenae, and hopes to secure a permit to fully excavate the streambed.

The precise type of stone used has not been found anywhere else in the palace of Mycenae, although a similar material was used extensively in the citadel's massive defensive walls and in the magnificent beehive tombs where its rulers were buried.

Maggidis said other parts of the throne may lie be beneath Mycenae, and hopes to secure a permit to fully excavate the streambed.

However, the Athens Archaeological Society has previously denied recent press reports that archaeologists have discovered part of the throne of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.

In a letter to the Greek culture ministry, the society's general secretary Vassilis Petrakos, who is also supervising excavations in Mycenae, in the north-eastern Peloponnese, said that claims by fellow archaeologist Christofilis Maggidis, who is field director of the dig, are unfounded.

He said that a team of experts had been sent to the site to examine the findings, a 50 kilo slab said to be part of the ancient king's stone chair, and dating back to the last historical phase of the palace at Mycenae.

The team concluded that there was no scientific evidence to back Maggidis's claim.

The shape of the finding, the experts said, suggests it was more likely part of a household or craft utensil.

Petrakos said the allegation marked an 'unfortunate, if not deliberate, scientific diversion.'

Mycenae, Peloponnese, Greece, The Lions Gate is part of the fortress wall of Mycenae.